Inspector builds amid turmoil

North Greenbush building coordinator plans 15 homes

The town’s building coordinator, who also owns a private construction company, is proposing to build his largest subdivision in town yet — despite continued ethical questions raised about his dual jobs.

Michael Miner has applied to have 53 acres between North and Buckbee roads subdivided into 15 large lots; a public hearing on the subdivision is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Miner told the Times Union late last week he has sought to remove any appearance of conf lict by parsing out the tasks he normally does for applicants — like taking

out public notices for the hearing and computing the building department’s application fee — to the planning board chairman and town comptroller.

But Miner’s building proposal comes at a tumultuous time for North Greenbush, as the State Police are investigating various questionable actions of Town Supervisor Louis J. Desso since the supervisor took office in 2016.

The Town Board passed a resolution at a meeting late last week urging the North Greenbush ethics board to meet to consider a request for an advisory opinion on Miner’s dual jobs that was submitted by lone Democratic town board member Mary Frances Sabo in May.

The three-member ethics board had yet to meet this year, and was stymied by a minor controversy after it was revealed that none of the members had signed the town’s oath book after being appointed at the town’s January organizational meeting.

Miner’s dual jobs were highlighted in a May 6 Times Union story about various conf licts and challenges facing code enforcement officials in municipalities throughout the Capital Region.

Miner has said he’ll do whatever town officials want, and has offered to pay for outside inspectors to handle his properties. While Miner has had a construction firm since he was first hired as North Greenbush building coordinator in 1999, he said he hadn’t gotten into home construction in town until the last few years. The Town Board has yet to sign any agreements with outside municipalities to look over Miner’s construction work.

Sabo has questioned if such an active builder can be the town’s head building inspector at all. But Miner says he remains confident he can keep his dual jobs separate.

“This is an opportunity for me, and I’m going to go ahead,” Miner told the Times Union late last week about his most recent subdivision proposal.

“I’m not asking the town to rezone, I’m not asking for a reuse,” Miner said. “That’s where I think a question would come in. Anyone has the right to divide their property and meet the town code.”

Miner has an option to purchase the property that is currently made up of dense woods off of North Road. The northern side of North Road is already being heavily developed by Hodorowski Homes.

Miner has had no accusations of specific unethical behavior levied against him. But he has been intertwined in some of the supervisor’s biggest controversies — such as having to address recent concerns levied by Rensselaer County about why the town had not reported certain sewer connections to the county, which provides the sewer treatment service and billing, in at least a year.

Miner has also had to answer questions on behalf of Desso about a sewer line extension to Desso’s Stephen Drive home that fellow board members approved last year. The circumstances surrounding that extension, which also had not been reported to the county for billing, are one of the matters State Police are looking at.

The Times Union also reported last week that Desso wrote a $1,850 check for his sewer extension fee in August — 17 months after the town first approved the extension.

Miner issues bills for planning board actions and permit fees. But a sewer extension is approved by the Town Board — actions that were previously handled by an engineer who no longer works for the town, Miner said.

Miner said he didn’t realize Desso hadn’t paid the fee until the town received a Freedom of Information request last month to see the payment and one could not be found. Desso’s wife wrote a check for the amount shortly thereafter, Miner said.

Miner acknowledged that as the town’s supervisor Desso should have known he had to pay the fee. But he told the Times Union he believes Desso’s nonpayment was an oversight.

“I’m sure (Desso) just got busy with a thousand other things and didn’t think of it again,” Miner said. “Unfortunately, in that position, you can’t do that.”